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Flea Theater Sets Season Featuring a Hollywood Visitor (and Zombies)

By Jennifer Schuessler July 23, 2015 3:56 pmJuly 23, 2015 3:56 pm

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Thomas BradshawCredit Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

A world premiere by Thomas Bradshaw, a play by Jennifer Haley directed by the Hollywood veteran Joel Schumacher, and a real-time zombie war-game played out on the streets of TriBeCa are among the highlights of the Flea Theater’s fall season, the first under its new artistic director, Niegel Smith.

Mr. Bradshaw’s “Fulfillment,” directed by Ethan McSweeny and running from Sept. 11 to Oct. 19, is set in a deceptively perfect apartment and is billed as tackling the question “What makes us happy?,” no doubt with Mr. Bradshaw’s signature provocative style.

Themes of unease and danger continue in the two other world premieres on the schedule: “Student Body,” a play about 10 students trapped together during a winter storm, written by Frank Winters and directed by Michelle Tattenbaum; and “Take Care,” a participatory performance about danger and emergency preparedness co-written by Todd Shalom and Mr. Smith, who will also direct.

But the alert level may hit its high in Ms. Haley’s “Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom,” which runs from Nov. 9 through Dec. 21. Set in a hyper-regimented suburban cul-de-sac, the play features a group of teenagers who lose themselves in an online zombie game, quickly blurring the line between game and reality.

The same may happen outside the theater: in conjunction with the run, the Flea will partner with the group State of Play to present “Humans vs. Zombies: Neighborhood 3 Edition,” a live-action game that will unfold on the streets near the theater’s TriBeCa home and beyond.

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Joel SchumacherCredit Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters

In an email, Carol Ostrow, the Flea’s producing director, described Mr. Schumacher — perhaps best known for his work on the “Batman” franchise — as “a fan” of the theater who started attending productions in 2012 and has directed two readings there.

“We were looking for a project for him to direct and we both love Jen Haley’s work,” Ms. Ostrow said. “He is also very enamored of The Bats” — the Flea’s resident troupe — “and is looking forward to collaborating with the young company.”

In 2012, Mr. Schumacher had been scheduled to direct “The Parisian Woman,” a new play by Beau Willimon commissioned by the Flea, leading to a quiet tug-of-war about whether the play should move to a venue larger than the Flea, an Off-Off-Broadway house which seats about 70. The play had its premiere in 2013 at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Cal., in a production directed by Pam MacKinnon.